Rants on Cycling and on Life:
Photos of people and bicycles that pass in front of my camera

8.10.2007

a mental health day

today I took a mental health dayit was vitalit was esscentialit went pretty much as planned

last night had some thunderstormslast night also had too much red winebut neither stopped me from being a good boy and taking my medicinewent out to rosaryville as planned

invited a few peopleno one could make itexpanded the offer... no one was interested or availabletried to recruit someone fast, fit, and on a single speed to guide me around the trailafter some emails on the topicI accepted that rosaryville was not only close but also very moderate in the area of technicala place that has the rubber stamp of FUN

people have been talking about rosaryville for some timeit has that tone of a great place to take your girlfriend mountain biking feel to itthere are a cast of people that like to ride their mountain bike track bikes thereso I accepted what was in front of me and took it on head on

I headed out to rosaryville solo mid day todaythe morning was slow with trying to sneak a few extra Zs after helping the boys get ready for summer campwhen I finally woke there was some work to be done on the bikework on the bike and gathering of gear stuff that should have been done last nightbut was left till morning as the bottle of red wine of the night was taking priority over the mountain bike ride of the next day

made the drive from downtown dc to upper marlboro with very little trafficmade it to the trailhead in fifty minutesthat fifty minutes includes a trip to wendy;s for a classic single and a chicken sandwich off the dollar menua dollar menu that now costs a buck nineteen

had the emailshad seen some posting had heard some talkyet I had no idea what to expect

so I suited up in my DCMTB kit and mounted my Jamis Exile 29er Single Speed and dipped into the woodsit was just as people saidit was buff trailbuff trail that road like a pump trackthat roller coaster flow that makes mountain biking feel something like skiingalthough I am a snowboarder and have yet to ski

the parking lot was vacant when I pulled in aside from one blue volvo with a thule racknot far into the ride I had that fearful yet anticipated head on encounter at a blind turnshe was spooked by my yeti gruntwe did not lock hornswe exchanged hellos and continued on our cardio way

one lap down and I turned around for a reverse loopthe nine miles went by.... but they did not go by with the snap of the fingerthere was some work therethe course is demanding enough to ask of some legs, some lungs, and some serious focuseach turn has the question of how fast it can be taken?I definitely tried to take it fast

a bit into lap two I encountered the woman from lap oneif I were slamming the keys on the keyboard for penthouse forum the story would go differentbut I am typing on my blogso I passed the same woman on a second lap... this time with two of her less experienced mountain biking friendsagain a short hello and a continued focus on maintaining speed and intensity

the day was hotnot quite the bangkok hot of the last few daysmore of a standard unbearable heat and humidity which is standard for august in dcthe wind blew through out the ridebut the wind just pushed hot heavy air aroundthe air was thickwhich left me soaked

my water bottle of accelerade was topped off with some red bullthis water bottle was nearly empty mid way through lap twoon lap three I finished it offwhile wondering how much water was left in my camelback

the bike, the body, and the fluids held outto my pleasure there was some ice cold water in the carthree laps at nine miles a piece gave me twenty seven miles of hammering in the heatI felt okaybut I questioned how I thought I could multiply that by four to complete the Shenandoah Mountain 100

a good day on the bike...but no real indicator of my level of fitness

I question my choice not to spend my day on the road bikebut I then reflect on the benefits the dirt brought meriding on dirt is good for my soulit is also good for my mental healththe gains of the same amount of time on the road do not measure up to what I got from being on dirt

not an issue of REM: Road Equivelancy Milesbut rather the escape from the carsescape from everything except the dirt under my tires and the ferns at my sidesometimes it is a thoughtless processother times it is a daydreamthen it can also be a concious appreciation

came off the trail feeling goodnot as good as I would have been feeling if I were writing this tale for penthouse foruma good way to spend the dayhad wanted to ride earlier in the daythen finish some task around the housethe tasks around the house went undone

got home with time to walk the dog and shower before the boys got home from the park with the babysitterthrew a frozen pizza in the oven before I unloaded the carpizza was cooking as I showeredthe boys ate and I freed the babysitterwe then drove out to northern virginia for an evening showing of Underdogthe movie followed by a stop to watch the planes take off from national airportwe cut through the airport and stopped at the park where people gather for the same experiencewatching planes land and watching planes take offkid were running aroundcouples were making out

the kids did not fall asleep on the drive homethe kids are asleep now

lisa is away on a girl's weekendI better finish this entry and this drink and go to bed

a good day a good day on the bikethat last lap really made it all worth whilegreat cardio spin on the single speed in a beautiful place on some super fun trailsmost definitely headed back to rosaryvillebut will try to avoid it with a full parking lotthe blind turns in that place combined with its potential for speedwell... there is a certain hazard potential

thought about tommy of gorrilla on the bike while i was out thereI think he did six or seven laps out thereif I wanted the miles I would ride there and backit seems doablethrough the cityon the shoulder of route fourthen find old upper marlboro pikeinstead of the main road way

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